ADDRESS BY CEPHAS KWASI BODAKPUI, THE PRINCIPAL OF ADA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION DURING THE 13TH CONGREGATION HELD ON SATURDAY, 3RD JULY, 2021 AT ADA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ASSEMBLY HALL AT 9:00AM  

The Chairman, the Director General, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission

The Representative of the Vice Chancellor, University of Cape Coast

The Guest Speaker—Dr. Settor Kwabla Amediku, Bank of Ghana

Members of the Academic Board

Neneme, Naaname

Principals of Sister Colleges/Institutions

Directors of Education

Vice Principal

Members of Staff

Heads of our Partner Schools

Graduands

Distinguished Guests

Friends from the Media

Continuing Students

Ladies and Gentlemen

WELCOME

I wish to warmly welcome you all to the 13th Congregation of Ada College of Education. Today is a very special day for all of us who have gathered here, as well as for those family members of the graduating students who could not attend but have to participate remotely from campus due to the COVID-19 restrictions. I am very sorry that we have to have this ceremony as a scaled-down version to avoid COVID-19 infection, and thus without any guests as well as your families. This ceremony itself is very symbolic of what all of you had to go through toward the end of your time at Ada College of Education. It is in this regard that we are streaming the ceremony live on Facebook and other platforms for your participation.

Graduating students, this day does not only mark the end of your long academic journey at Ada College of Education, but also the day we can celebrate the end of a very stressful academic year without anyone infected by COVID-19 virus on our campus.

I admire all of you, staff and students alike, for the fact that we could get through these very tough days together, full of anxiety at first, but very united and caring for each other for the entire year under review. As the Principal of the College, I am very proud of you all.

Apart from this graduation ceremony combining two batches of graduating students, it is unique in two ways. One, it has recorded the highest number of first class students (36 first class students), and two, it is the last batch of the diploma programmes run by the College.

I am happy to announce that, in today’s ceremony, we are graduating a total of 646 students from Ada College of Education. I would like to congratulate all the graduating students and their families for their hard work and intensive study here at ADACOE. You can all be very proud of your wonderful achievements.

Graduating students, the value of the certificate you are about to obtain today is not only a source of pride but also an indicator of your readiness to work and serve mother Ghana. I am confident that we have empowered you with the requisite skills and mindset to deal with all the challenges that will come your way.

Mr. Chairman, at this juncture, permit me to highlight some of the developments in the College for the period under review.

STUDENT POPULATION

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, the student population for 2020/2021 is currently 875. This number is made up of:

Level 100: 328 (161 males and 167 females);

Level 200: 253 (157 males and 96 females); and

Level 300: 294 (186 males and 108 females).  For the year under review, the College received over 770 applications for admission out of which 335 were admitted.

STATISTICS AND PASS LIST

In all, Six Hundred and Four-Six (646) gallant men and women are graduating today. The number is made up of Three Hundred and Fourteen (314) from the 2018/2019 academic year and Three Hundred and Thirty-Two (332) from 2019/2020 academic year. In all, thirty-six of them were awarded First Class by the Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast. The breakdown of the pass list is as follows:

Academic Year	1st class	2nd class Upper	2nd class Lower	3rd class	Pass	Total
2018/2019	06 (1.91%)	106 (33.76%)	122 (38.859%)	55 (17.52%)	25 (7.96%)	314
2019/2020	30 (9.04%)	134 (40.36%)	109 (32.83%)	36 (10.84%)	23 (6.93%)	332

NEW ACADEMIC STRUCTURE

Mr. Chairman, we are in the third year since the Government of Ghana introduced a policy that will enable Colleges of Education to run a Four-Year Bachelor of Education Degree Programmes. Adverts have already been floated for new admission for the 2021/2022 academic year. Ada College of Education runs the following programmes: B. Ed (Primary Education), B. Ed (Technical), B. Ed Science, B, Ed Mathematics, B. Ed (Visual Arts), B. Ed (Home Economics) and B. Ed (Agriculture Science). I encourage those who qualify to pursue any of these programmes to go online and process the application forms.

Apart from the regular programmes run by the College, the Institute of Education of the University of Cape Coast, the Ghana National Association of Teachers and the Ministry of Education rolled out a 1-year, 3-Semester Sandwich Top-Up programme for Diploma holders to upgrade their status to various degree certificates. I am happy to inform you that Ada College of Education currently has the first and second cohorts of this Top-Up programme.

Mr. Chairman, let me be quick to add that due to the havoc caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Ghana has put measures in place to ensure that only two levels of students are on campus at a given time. This is to reduce the rate of infection in the colleges of education.

SUPPORTED TEACHING IN SCHOOLS

Mr. Chairman, as part of the new 4-Year Bachelor of Education Programme, there is a change in the previous teaching practice structure. It is now termed Supported Teaching in Schools (STS). With the STS, student teachers have to be transported to and from their schools of practice once every week. This practice of conveying student teachers to their schools of practice will continue from level 100 to level 400.

PROGRAMME AFFILIATIONS

Currently, Ada College of Education in addition to fourteen (14) other colleges of education, is affiliated to the University of Education, Winneba, and the University of Cape Coast.

STAFFING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Distinguished Guests, the numerical strength of the Staff of the College is 88. This number is made up of 45 Academic Staff and 43 Non-Academic Staff. There are also ten (10) National Service personnel who are assisting in various aspects of the College.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Government of Ghana through Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) has been organizing series of programmes and workshops to strengthen the Staff towards the full attainment of tertiary status by the staff..

Mr. Chairman, Members of Staff, both Academic and Non-Academic, continue to pursue various courses in various universities to upgrade their capacity for improved performance in their respective fields. Additionally, tutors make themselves available at weekly Professional Development Sessions. This has improved their pedagogical skills.

Distinguished Guests, research and publication is very critical in the new tertiary status that we have acquired. Management has therefore formed Research, Publication and Project Work Committee to champion this course. Several workshops have been organized for the tutors to enable them write articles and publish them in peer review journals. Findings of these publications, we believe are helping to transform teaching and learning in the College for the better. I am happy to inform you that some staff members have published articles in peer reviewed journals, and have applied for promotions to various levels.

In addition, staff members in their desire to meet requirements for being staff of a tertiary institution, continue to pursue higher academic programmes such as PhD, M. Phil and others. They are at various levels of completion.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Mr. Chairman, in our quest to promote academic excellence in the College, Management has decided to award the best performing students to serve as a motivation to their juniors. Today, I am pleased to inform you that the College shall acknowledge all the thirty-six (36) first class students made up of 27 males and 9 females.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Management has tremendously improved upon the lighting system and sanitation issues in the College community.

Electricity Company of Ghana has installed a new transformer for the College. For the first time in the history of the College, we can now boast of owning our own electricity transformer. This I believe would help improve power supply in the College community.

PHYSICAL PROJECTS/COLLEGE IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES

In the year under review, the College recruited twenty-six (26) members to complement numbers of both academic and non-academic staff to improve performance in their various fields, while twelve (12) staff members have gone on retirement.

The College, through Internally Generated Fund (IGF) has constructed a permanent pavilion attached to the Assembly Hall. This additional structure is helping to reduce overcrowding during gatherings such as thus graduation ceremony and others.

The College has also carried out the following:

• Completion of the Vice Principal’s Office
• Beautification of the College Campus
• Purchase of a new set of Musical Instruments
• Furnishing and Operation of the Functional Wellness Centre

PARTNERSHIPS

The College has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Accra and Dambai Colleges of Education; Ghana Education Service—Ada East, West; and North and South Tongu Districts to ensure quality education and training.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Mr. Chairman, the College has expanded her partnership schools to cover more schools in Ada East, Ada West and North and South Tongue Districts. Our facilities are available for organizations, and institutions like the College of Distance Education (CoDE), University of Cape Coast and the Jackson College of Education distance programmes. We also hosted the Train for Tomorrow Project, which is organized by Plan International in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, the National Teaching Council, and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission. The staff members also participate in any community activity that demands their services.

CHALLENGES

Distinguished Guests, though the College has achieved some successes, the College also has some challenges to battle with.

• I mention first of all inadequate staff accommodation. Due to inadequate staff accommodation, indiscipline in the College has become tough for us to manage.
• The College lacks modern lecture theatres to suit the nature of the new programme.
• Since the new programmes are practical oriented, the College needs well-equipped Science Laboratories to make the goals of the programme achieved.
• The College internal roads are not good for vehicular movements.
• The College needs a befitting auditorium for College gatherings.
• Additional means of power supply to light the College during power outages is needed.
• There is poor drainage system in the College due to the high water belt.

APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE 

On behalf of College Management, Staff and Students, I wish to appeal to all well-meaning individuals, associations, groups and Government to come to our aid in addressing some of these challenges that I have mentioned.

TO THE GRADUANDS

And now my dear graduands, at this juncture, one of the interesting and very pressing realities around us today, which is worth thinking about, is the challenge of digital literacy COVID-19 has brought to us. As new generational teachers, COVID-19 has taught us that teaching, learning and assessment can take place without the traditional classroom. I implore you all to take advantage of the online learning opportunity this pandemic has brought to develop yourselves professionally.

Go and make impact in the society as professional teachers. Remember that while a receipt of teaching certificate qualifies you as a teacher; it does not make you a professional teacher. Currently in Ghana, after you have qualified as a teacher, you need to pass the Ghana Licensure Examination organized by the National Teaching Council (NTC), and produce portfolio as evidence to show that you have met the professional standards stipulated in the National Teachers’ Standards (NTS). After you have successfully gone through this process, you are licensed as a professional teacher, which you need to renew every two years.

Bear in mind that a professional teacher is without reproach. He or she is committed to change and continuous improvement, has the subject knowledge as well as the pedagogical knowledge. He or she has good working relationships beyond the classroom—working with the community, colleagues, parents, opinion leaders and the public at large. He or she is an agent of societal change, agent of development, and a nation builder.

Note that no development can take place when you produce individuals to acquire technical skills only. What Ghana needs is individuals who are inspired by the principles of truth, integrity, honesty, and selflessness. I therefore urge you to go to villages, towns and cities where your services are mostly needed, and be Ghana’s development agents. Congratulations!!

ACKOWLEDGEMENTS/COMMENDATIONS

Mr. Chairman, may I use this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to the Management and Staff of this noble Institution for their hard work and dedication in nurturing the graduands before us here to complete their course successfully. I am grateful for the passion with which you diligently discharge your duties to make these future leaders ready for their graduation. God richly bless you for your humanity towards mankind and country.

I also wish to acknowledge the District Chief Executive for donating ten (10) street lights to the College. The College is grateful for this benevolence, and as the proverbial Oliver Twist, we want to appeal for more of such gestures.

We also acknowledge the 1990 year group, and 2010/2011 SRC for the construction of the Main College gate for us. This assistance would not go unnoticed.

CONCLUSION

Mr. Chairman, I would like to assure you that we are committed to improving equality and fairness, and providing the best opportunities for everyone in our wider community. Our goal is that our students will acquire the values and life skills essential to live and to serve in tomorrow’s world. I have a strong belief that with you—the Government of Ghana, guests, media, the old students and parents by our side, the sky shall be our limit.

My prayer is that God’s blessings continue to be with you in everything you do.

ADACOE to the highest level!—zim

ADACOE to the highest level!!—zim

ADACOE leeeee………………..

Thank you.